Why do PC Gamers Prefer their Games to be on Steam

[CloudAtlas]

Convenience.

I've been moving and travelling quite a bit in recent years, having my games on Steam is just much more convenient. I haven't bought a game on DVD since Skyrim, and I don't think this is going to change.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Lazyness.
I don't want to go out of my way to go to a physical store.
Steam solves that problem nicely.
Even so, sometimes I just prefer having a digitally distributed game that isn't bound to Steam, since steam seems to require an internet connection to start up.

So gog.com is pretty nice too.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I've never had a problem with steam and I hate clutter so my extensive games collection is nice and safe on the interwebs.
I do use other systems but I like steam the best. The social functions it has and the sales OH GOD THE SALES.

 

[Seventh Actuality]

It's a nice guarantee you won't have to deal with fucking Games for Windows Live.

 

[MrMrAwesom]

I'm surprised no one mentioned (or maybe I skim too fast) the automatic updates that you don't have to "launch" the game then wait forever for the update. Sometimes you do have to launch & update like Black Light: Retribution, but I haven't played that in forever & might be an automatic thing now.

 

[templar1138a]

First, I prefer digital games for the following reasons.
1. Digital is much more convenient than buying discs.
2. No sales tax.

So you think that a service that can wipe all your games if it a) shuts down or b) you refuse some draconian change to its ToS is more convenient? I think you are not looking long term.

As for the second point, its always interesting how people who are so against pirating from corporations are very much ok sidestepping their duty to pay taxes as a citizen in a modern society. Do you know the kinds of social services that sales tax provides? That's why I am so happy at current attempts to change US law so online retailers MUST pay taxes. Short term thinking again.

*blinks* Feeling inadequate much?

First of all, because of its excellent business practices, the likelihood of Steam shutting down or making draconian changes is about the same as Half-Life 3 getting made. And even if they do somehow get shut down, you forget that playing those games involves downloading them and they can be played offline. If I can't log into Steam in offline mode, someone somewhere will find a way to make my downloaded games accessible.

Second, tax or no, Steam will still have two sales a week. As for social services, I pay my state and federal income taxes. No side-stepping here.

 

[flarty]

Something about spending real money on flimsy digital files rubs me up the wrong way, so I don't do that. It also doesn't

You do know thats all your paying for anyway. Its just the delivery method is different.

 

[Subscriptism]

That's not the case at all for me. I only buy on steam because the other option is origin, Steam's cheaper and almost anything is exclusively on steam. If I could get steam prices without steam I would do it in a heartbeat to avoid the DRM.

 

[Woodsey]

I really don't care that much. It's nice to have them in a big fancy list but I'm still going to buy stuff as cheap as I can find it - and occasionally that means no Steam code.

A big part of it is the fact that everyone seems to having a go at their own version of Steam and they're all shit. I mean, Steam was shit when it was released, but then it was released almost a decade ago and there was nothing to compare it to.

Furthermore, if my internet was to go down (I live in a rural area, so it's possible), then I wouldn't be able to play the games I should otherwise be able to play.

You can run a lot of games without even launching Steam if you just go straight to their .exe. Plus, its only a one-time activation.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

What's funny is I used to prefer having physical copies. But as I uinstalled and reinstalled games Steam became a much easier option.

I still had my physical copy of STALKER SoC, but when I needed to reinstall it, I kept having to take out the disc, install it, patch it, and run it. With the Steam version it's one click from installing it with all the patches.

Steam is DRM and it has issues, but Gabe Newell was right when he argued that the main issue was convenience.

 

[Summerstorm]

I am in it for the re-download. That alone is it worth to pay a bit more. (Steam is really no cheap in Germany)

For example: I bought "Daggerfall" like 14 years ago as boxed second hand when i was in London. I HAVE NO IDEA where the damn box is, and even if i had it back: The CD might be deteriorated (CD and DVD have about 20 year lifespan) or simply cracked.

I am betting on Steam carrying on in servicable form for longer than this time (And at the end give time to get your Games one last time -DRM free or transfered) and i like having all my games risk free at any time (After a night of downloading *g*)

Also the sales (and with that: finding something you missed a long time ago) - But i am also using GoG.com for that.

Oh... AND the choice to get a game in different languages (I prefer the original or one with the best voice-actors - so mostly english, or subtitled) without ordering every damn game from out of country.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Are you me? You even had the same issues with Skyrim, it's so uncanny.

Pretty sure everyone had that problem with Skyrim at some point, whether it was the PC version or not. One update made my PS3 cop crash everytime I went in water. Not just crash the game, but make the entire system unresponsive...

But anyways, I like Steam. Sure, it might have DRM, but I have not once found those DRM measures to be at all intrusive. It's only secondary 'services' like Uplay that cause a headache, and Valve has nothing to do with those.

Plus there's the sales. And the convenience of not having my desktop covered with a billion individual icons, and having to remember where they all are. And the fact that it's easy to access from whatever computer I want, so long as I remember the password. And then there's the fact that it has friends-lists and the like, which makes playing a game of Civ with people I know so much easier.

 

[Glaice]

Mainly for convenience and the fact I grew up with PC gaming in the mid to late 90s (alongside older gen console games).

 

[maxben]

First, I prefer digital games for the following reasons.
1. Digital is much more convenient than buying discs.
2. No sales tax.

So you think that a service that can wipe all your games if it a) shuts down or b) you refuse some draconian change to its ToS is more convenient? I think you are not looking long term.

As for the second point, its always interesting how people who are so against pirating from corporations are very much ok sidestepping their duty to pay taxes as a citizen in a modern society. Do you know the kinds of social services that sales tax provides? That's why I am so happy at current attempts to change US law so online retailers MUST pay taxes. Short term thinking again.

*blinks* Feeling inadequate much?

First of all, because of its excellent business practices, the likelihood of Steam shutting down or making draconian changes is about the same as Half-Life 3 getting made. And even if they do somehow get shut down, you forget that playing those games involves downloading them and they can be played offline. If I can't log into Steam in offline mode, someone somewhere will find a way to make my downloaded games accessible.

Second, tax or no, Steam will still have two sales a week. As for social services, I pay my state and federal income taxes. No side-stepping here.

First of all, the likelihood of Steam shutting down is 100%, the question is when. As for draconian changes, it is far more likely than you are willing to admit. And you can make them accessible, there are no steam patches available. But they are illegal in most places in the world. All that would be is piracy/

As for taxes, it is absolutely a legal loophole that requires fixing. You don't get to decide what taxes you pay, you either pay all taxes or you are a tax cheat. And online retailers are cheating the tax system.

 

[jpoon]

I always hope to see the games I buy being put on steam. It's easily the best form of DRM for anyone to have to deal with. They provide a quality service at least, the others don't even come close at this point.


"First of all, the likelihood of Steam shutting down is 100%, the question is when. As for draconian changes, it is far more likely than you are willing to admit. And you can make them accessible, there are no steam patches available. But they are illegal in most places in the world. All that would be is piracy/
As for taxes, it is absolutely a legal loophole that requires fixing. You don't get to decide what taxes you pay, you either pay all taxes or you are a tax cheat. And online retailers are cheating the tax system."

Gabben himself has already stated that if there ever were a time when Steam shut down, they would patch out every game to unlock it. No reason to worry about that man.

 

[TehCookie]

Are you me? You even had the same issues with Skyrim, it's so uncanny.

Pretty sure everyone had that problem with Skyrim at some point, whether it was the PC version or not. One update made my PS3 cop crash everytime I went in water. Not just crash the game, but make the entire system unresponsive...

But anyways, I like Steam. Sure, it might have DRM, but I have not once found those DRM measures to be at all intrusive. It's only secondary 'services' like Uplay that cause a headache, and Valve has nothing to do with those.

Plus there's the sales. And the convenience of not having my desktop covered with a billion individual icons, and having to remember where they all are. And the fact that it's easy to access from whatever computer I want, so long as I remember the password. And then there's the fact that it has friends-lists and the like, which makes playing a game of Civ with people I know so much easier.

When I posted that on here I got several people fanboys saying it's you can turn off automatic updates (when I already did) or that it's terrible to not update ASAP. My only guess is brainwashed people didn't see it as a problem because steam is perfect in their eyes.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I don't.

I prefer my copy to be physical.

Yes, it takes up space, but at least I actually own a game and I can still re-install it if my internet goes down(not factoring in origin or steam games).

The only things that I like about steam is the integrated mod support and the sales.

I'm apathetic towards everything else it has to offer.

 

[Zipa]

I don't.

I prefer my copy to be physical.

Yes, it takes up space, but at least I actually own a game and I can still re-install it if my internet goes down(not factoring in origin or steam games).

The only things that I like about steam is the integrated mod support and the sales.

I'm apathetic towards everything else it has to offer.

You don't own any game on PC, you buy a license to play it. Doesn't matter if it comes from Steam a CD , Origin ect. You never actually own it you in a nutshell have bought permission to use it.

On topic: I use Steam because it is the best online distribution platform there is.
It has the whole package, sales, fantastic community support (workshop, chat and matchmaking) and its super easy to re download a game.
It also has the benefit of not taking up any physical space which is somewhat limited in a lot of peoples homes, mine included. Plus you can't break a digital copy like you can a disk.
Plus retail stores around me obstinately refuse to keep more than 3 out of date PC games on the shelves which is why I moved to steam in the first place.

Don't get me wrong though GOG are pretty good but they have only just started to do newer games and their selection of games is not there yet.